Eurozone construction industry dives deeper into depression

THE EURO area construction industry came in for another hammering in November, data revealed yesterday.

Construction output fell 0.4 per cent between October and November, Eurostat said yesterday, adding to the deep slump the construction industry has been suffering since 2007.

The decline has seen almost 30 percentage points wiped off the sector’s output since highs at the end of 2006, and left output nearly a fifth lower than the average reached in 2005.

The wider EU saw an even bigger 0.9 per cent fall in November, but has proved somewhat more resilient than the crisis-hit core of the bloc, with output around 85 per cent of the 2005 level.

Within the supranational body, Italy (minus 3.4 per cent), the UK and Poland suffered the worst monthly declines, while Slovenia (14.9 per cent), Romania and Sweden enjoyed healthy improvement on the month.

Yet looking at the year as a whole Slovenia fared worst, suffering a 20.4 per cent collapse in output, followed by Italy and Portugal. The only annual improvements came in beleaguered Spain, where output grew 10.3 per cent, and Sweden, which enjoyed a more modest 1.5 per cent improvement.